ᐅ Do you have any ideas for designing our floor plan?

Try arranging the living room, dining room, and kitchen together in an L-shape, and if you want to separate the kitchen, it’s better to install a glass partition with a glass door. This way, you’ll have plenty of light, and the kitchen will still be separate. Just search for "glass room divider" on Google and check the image results—you’ll find many great ideas.

backbone23 schrieb:
Why don’t you consult an architect?

I have enough designs from architects. I’m just not allowed to share them because of copyright.

He told me the south terrace (meaning the one facing the street) or a town villa. In the end, it was a very narrow house with a terrace on the west side.

I just want to exchange some ideas, not get a floor plan. I probably shouldn’t have posted my sketch.

projekthausbau schrieb:
Try arranging the living room, dining room, and kitchen together in an L-shape, and if you want to separate the kitchen, it’s better to install a glass wall with a glass door. This way, you get plenty of light, and the kitchen remains separate. Just search for "room divider glass" on Google and check the image results—there are many great ideas.

So, placing the living room and dining room entirely on the south side and the kitchen to the west, creating an L-shape, allows access to the terrace through the kitchen, though the route is quite long. The rest areas are then also located near the terrace 😀 as an architect might say.

We currently have a living room facing north/northeast with windows on the west side. It is definitely not too dark for us. Only from November to February does it get darker, but during that time, there is no sun anyway! In the new house, the living room also faces west and north, but the open kitchen is oriented towards the south.

I honestly don’t understand the hype about having to place the living area facing south.

What does your daily routine look like? Do you spend most of your day lounging in the living room?

In a small family (and elsewhere as well 😉), the living area is usually only used in the evenings or on rainy weekends. During the day, people work, cook in the kitchen, do crafts or eat at the dining table, or work on homework.

The living room can be a bit smaller, since it’s mostly just used for watching TV, where sunlight can actually be a nuisance!

A real challenge is locating a child’s bedroom a) next to a living room or b) next to a terrace.

And now you want a) the living room facing south and b) the terrace facing north.

If you don’t like skylights (Velux windows), then build a bungalow with an offset gable or shed roof. This way, you can capture the morning sun in the northwest-facing living room through the resulting gable. Maybe you could also have a small mezzanine there that can serve as a workspace.

Or build a house 8 meters (26 feet) wide with a bay window centrally positioned on the west side. This allows you to catch sunlight through side windows facing south and north, and to stroll out toward the north-facing terrace—possibly even covered in this area.

I also don’t see a problem with a north-facing terrace. Nowadays, small seating areas are arranged to follow the sun throughout the day. You might even find yourself sitting right by the street on a cozy bench because the neighbors are so friendly and chatty. Sunbathing usually doesn’t happen on the terrace anyway, but rather somewhere under a tree or a pergola in the middle of the garden.

Or, or, or...

Light still comes in through a north-facing window 😀

ypg schrieb:
To be honest, I don’t quite understand the hype around having to place the living area facing south.
What does your daily routine look like? Do you lounge around in the living room during the day?
In a small family (and elsewhere too 😉), the living area is usually only used in the evening or on rainy weekends.
During the day, people work, cook in the kitchen, do crafts or eat at the dining table, or do homework.
The living room can be a bit smaller since it is mainly used for watching TV, and sunlight can actually be distracting there!

A problem arises when placing a child’s bedroom a) next to a living room b) next to the terrace.
Now you want a) the living room facing south and b) the terrace facing north.

If you don’t like skylights (Velux windows), then build a bungalow with a staggered gable or shed roof. This way you can catch morning sun from the east in the northwest-facing living room created by the gable.
Maybe you can also fit a small mezzanine in the living room to use as a workspace.

Or build an 8-meter (26 feet) wide house with a bay window in the center of the west facade. This allows you to catch sunlight through side windows facing south and north and walk out onto the north terrace, possibly even with a covered area there.

I also don’t understand the problem with a south-facing terrace. Nowadays, there are plenty of small seating areas around the house that can be used depending on the sun’s position. You might even end up sitting on a cozy bench by the street chatting with friendly neighbors. People usually don’t sunbathe on terraces anyway; they prefer somewhere under a tree or a pergola in the middle of the garden.

Or, or, or...

Light also comes in through a north-facing window 😀

Fully agree!!!